{"id":37,"date":"2011-05-30T01:03:00","date_gmt":"2011-05-30T05:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.livingingin.com\/?page_id=37"},"modified":"2011-12-12T20:19:06","modified_gmt":"2011-12-13T01:19:06","slug":"cake-town-memories","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.livingingin.com\/?page_id=37","title":{"rendered":"Cake Town Memories"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n“I was born in Cincinnati near Mariemont, but I spent most of my childhood just across the river in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. “Cake Town” is about as middle-America as you can possibly get, a cozy bedroom community strung along the top of a steep ridge overlooking the Ohio River, best known for its excellent public schools and its streets of tidy, well-kept houses. The type of place where you want to wake up on Christmas morning.<\/p>\n

For me, it\u2019s always refreshing going back there. Almost every spot in the city has some sort of childhood memory associated with it. No matter where I\u2019ve been and what kinds of sordid ordeals I\u2019ve been going through in my life, I feel like I can always go back and find Fort Thomas pretty much just as I had left it.<\/p>\n

Most of my extended family and a few old friends in the Cincinnati area still live either in or near Fort Thomas, so the town typically serves as the hub of my activities during my periodic visits back home.<\/p>\n

Prior to my most recent visit, though, it occurred to me that I hardly had any photos of the city, so I made a special point to remedy that oversight with my new digital camera. Here are some photos of some special places around my hometown, taken during the week of June 20-26, 2009.”<\/p>\n

From Cake Town Memories<\/a>, posted by David Cole<\/a> on 6\/28\/2009 (63 items)<\/p>\n

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Ridgewood Apartments, where we lived when I was a toddler. My memories of living here…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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The house I grew up in, near the cul-de-sac on Arlington Place.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Bellaire Place in the northern part of Fort Thomas. My grandparents lived in a modest…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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The condominium in nearby Southgate where my grandparents moved when the house on Bel…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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The main sidewalk to Samuel Woodfill Elementary School, which is where I began my for…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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The historical marker in front of Samuel Woodfill Elementary School on South Fort Tho…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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The side entrance to Woodfill School, and the spot where I saw hail for the first tim…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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The windows to the right were of my first grade classroom, the domain of Mrs. Grimm.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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I remember when this memorial plaque in the school’s front yard was dedicated to a st…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Woodfill School’s ample front lawn, with the original 1922 building in the background…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Going around to the back of the building. Mrs. Eichner’s second-grade classroom behin…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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The gymnasium and some more classrooms were added sometime in the 1970’s. That torna…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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Across the street from the school is the best sledding hill in Fort Thomas.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Some ball fields across from Woodfill. This is where they tried to teach me some athl…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Down the hill from Woodfill is the site of the 1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, w…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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This roadside historical marker was finally erected sometime within the past year or …<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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The driveway to the Beverly Hills Supper Club site, now cracked and overgrown with wi…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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For many families in the area, the grief has never stopped burning.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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The Midway business district, which grew up around the old fort and now serves as sor…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Known to locals simply as Fort Thomas Pub, this little neighborhood bar has been a lo…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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The old Fort Thomas Armory, now a gymnasium for the park district. This building serv…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Former military housing, now nicely restored as private homes.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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The stone walls and wrought iron gates are a common sight around town.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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The Fort Thomas water tower, namesake of Tower Park, which occupies the grounds of th…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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The two cannons in front of the water tower were already over a century old when they…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Historical marker in front of the water tower.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Historical marker in front of the water tower.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Plaque on the water tower.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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The entrance to the reservoirs downhill from the water tower. Like most other stone s…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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South Fort Thomas Avenue. Fort Thomas Avenue is pretty much the main drag through tow…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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The Fort Thomas water tower.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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The old Mess Hall in Tower Park, now a community center. I remember the building bein…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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The ball field at Tower Park, with the old Mess Hall — now a community center — in …<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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A short distance from the Mess Hall is a side street that contains some abandoned off…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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A sign sternly warns visitors to stay away from the structures.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Abandoned officers’ housing in Fort Thomas<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Abandoned officers’ housing in Fort Thomas<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Abandoned officers’ housing in Fort Thomas<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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The street itself is becoming overgrown.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Abandoned officers’ housing in Fort Thomas. Being the largest house at the end of the…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Abandoned officers’ housing in Fort Thomas<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Abandoned officers’ housing in Fort Thomas<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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Abandoned officers’ housing in Fort Thomas<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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A little statue of the Virgin Mary is the only thing that remains inside this house. …<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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One of several gracious old homes that line South Fort Thomas Avenue.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Former military housing.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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St. Thomas Roman Catholic Church occupies a handsome edifice near the center of town.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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St. Thomas Church. My family attended Christ Church up the street, but many of my fri…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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A fairly typical house on South Fort Thomas Avenue.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on South Fort Thomas Avenue.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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Christ Church (United Church of Christ). This was my family’s old church.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Christ Church. It’s been at least 25 years since I last walked through those doors.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Fort Thomas is the classic streetcar suburb. The former Green Line played an importan…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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I was amazed to find Smitty’s still in business. I’ve been shorn there quite a few ti…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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The central business district of Fort Thomas. It was a Sunday afternoon and the tempe…<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Downtown Fort Thomas<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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I’ve always liked the little Masonic Lodge in the middle of town.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Downtown Fort Thomas<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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Downtown Fort Thomas<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Highlands High School, the pride and joy of Fort Thomas. I didn’t attend school here …<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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Typical houses along North Fort Thomas Avenue.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n


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